1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a device for handling flat materials such as plywood, sheetrock, masonite, and for holding said materials on edge while a carpenter planes, saws, or otherwise works on or shapes said material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At the present time there is no single device which has all of the desired characteristics and capabilities of the invention to enable a carpenter to support a plurality of sheet materials on edge so that the materials may be worked on prepared such as planning or cutting either singly or together; then moving the materials to the place where they will be finally used or stored; and to enable the carpenter or assistant to tip the materials on end for standing or stacking.
The manner in which carpenters presently handle sheet materials which need to be worked or prepared for fitting is merely to place them on a horse or lean them against the horses and do the required work. Then the carpenter or his assistant manually carry the material to where it is to be stored or utilized. This often results in broken materials, if the material if fragile such as sut sheet rock or pressboard, or damaged edges if the material is substantial such as plywood. More than one sheet of such materials, heavy doors, or panes of glass, are difficult for one person to handle conveniently and safely. However, with the invention, all of the above functions can be accomplished by a single person without difficulty. MORSE, U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,662 described a door carrier and hanging device. MORSE, however, must of necessity have two clamps which is the only support of the materials. There is in MORSE no provision for supporting the door or other material between the clamps; consequently the materials break and edges are damaged when placed on the single point front and rear support member. In MORSE, the location of the clamps provides no stability to the material, and material damage can result from sideways forces when the material is being worked. In addition, the inherent rigidity of the materials does not aid in increasing the stability of the device or rigidity as does the use of the base channel in the present invention.